True Detective Season 2 Episode 3: Review

So its time to call their bluff. Last time we saw how Ray Velcoro was shot with a shotgun and left for dead. Just like many viewers I was also convinced that this is the end for him. But the showrunners played a dirty trick here. Yeah, they disappointingly saved Velcoro against everybody’s expectations. I know the show’s better off with him alive but still it would’ve been a real jolt, just the type which the show needed to go into overdrive. So this week we just got an extended version of the things already happening. And some neatly done references to David Lynch and a little too apparent homage to that magnificent long shot by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the series director from last season.

This week we started off immediately after last week’s horrifyingly amazing attack which left Ray severely wounded and presumably dead. Now we found out that the attacker used harmless bullets which are used by police during riot control suggesting he might related to the police in some way. One weird thing we saw this week was the first scene of the episode which was made in somewhat a David Lynch-ian style. So no complains there as Lynch’s style was always mesmerizing. This gave the show an eccentric opening with Ray talking to his father while still unconscious from the wound. Frankly the David Lynch undertones worked very well with the show’s overall fantastical realism with intersection of the non-related yet some fun scenes. Other mentionable thing in the episode which was inspired from another director was the chase sequence when Ani runs to catch someone seemingly the prime suspect. The way it was shot was strikingly similar to the widely acclaimed long shot in fourth episode of the last season. It wasn’t as great as its inspiration but I think its purpose was to just a tribute to the original one.

Back in the story we found out more about Woodrugh and how his bedroom problems might just not related to stress. He met a former lover (yeah, he was) who tried to rekindle their relationship but instead was just punched and deserted by Woodrugh. All signs read right then he’s most probably a closet homosexual, if not bi. He himself denies the truth about his sexuality and tries to lead life as straight person or maybe he knows but wants to keep the truth as deep as possible due to his fears. Speaking of bedroom troubles, Frank Semyon also looks like is running out of luck. All things considered, he’s not merely having below the belt troubles but is now sure that somebody is trying to get him for something as he founds another body of one of his men which forces him into taking drastic measures to raise more funds and find out the person or group responsible. He had a pretty serious talk with the capo(s) of his organization who work for him or ever worked for him. Here he sensed a slight uprising which he suppressed in a surprisingly gruesome and exhilarating manner (“how do you face the world with those”). Like I said before, Frank Semyon is another character to keep looking out for beside Velcoro as he’s the one taking the most damage due the murders and is the most desperate to find the culprit, although he can’t officially take the help of police. On the other hand, the state department sounded a little too interested in Velcoro and compelling Ani to find something on him which might help convict him. Well, besides that, both of them visited the bizarre home of the Mayor which houses some ,maybe common in Vinci, yet peculiar people for general standards and showed how tangled and even potentially scandalous the Mayor could be. This naturally infuriated the Mayor who then swore retribution on Ani. Trying to take advantage of the scenario, Ray tried again to get himself off this detail but to no relief. We also saw the relationship between Ray and his father which despite some questionable exchange of substances seemed almost okay. I mean his father might also be a deranged addict with anger issues (he likes to throw away his badge) but there’s no bad blood between him and Ray and both seem to get along alright. As for Ani’s personal life, we saw a very insignificant break up. In the end, we caught a glimpse of the personal possibly responsible for all this who seems to be proficient athlete as he somehow manages to outrun Ray and Ani more than just by chance. Just the final scenes showed how Frank doesn’t share much with his wife despite all his worries and prefers to keep his emotions bottled up.

A still from "Maybe Tomorrow"

So as of now, this is the time the show must do something to keep the audience for coming back for more. Being only an eight part series, despite the great pacing and few memorable sequences, the show still lacks the sheer brilliance and haunting mystery of the previous season. But love it or hate it, this is what we have and whether people agree with me or not, I like it for the great shots, development of the protagonists, David Lynch-ian undertones and the overall cinematography which always suggests a sense of depth to the otherwise dull environments. Though there is still room for improvement in the story and the furtive identity of the killer. So the show is still fun and enough gory but can be a bit more subtle and dark in its approach which it needs to be.